Shame on you for using STEAM !

[jt_medina]

Here a steam user, the only issue I had was with battlefield 2 when I tried to install mods but apart from that never really had more issues with steam. In fact I love it. it's easy to use and the fact IL2 COD will use steam I believe it's a great idea. No more having to find the right patch to install it and I can find servers without having to install any other app.

I can only see advantages. About the DRM as far as I know it's even less intrusive than Starforce, it doesn't install any kind of driver. I think piracy kills sales and at least on PC if they want to sale they have to do something to avoid piracy.

[Blackdog_kt]

Originally Posted by jt_medina

Here a steam user, the only issue I had was with battlefield 2 when I tried to install mods but apart from that never really had more issues with steam. In fact I love it. it's easy to use and the fact IL2 COD will use steam I believe it's a great idea. No more having to find the right patch to install it and I can find servers without having to install any other app.

I can only see advantages. About the DRM as far as I know it's even less intrusive than Starforce, it doesn't install any kind of driver. I think piracy kills sales and at least on PC if they want to sale they have to do something to avoid piracy.

Steam is not here for DRM purposes though. CoD will ship with Solidshield DRM and Steam will be there to handle the multiplayer, so i don't see why it's mandatory for people who only want to fly offline.
Sure, it has an offline mode but it's still an extra 4-5 clicks of the button to bypass features i'm not interested in, so i can't see why they won't give me a big "disable steam integration" button to press once and be done with it.

Originally Posted by kimosabi

Blackdog, I think you need a time out man. Talk about painting the world black lol.

I'm not being a pessimist for the sake of it. I'm just trying to find out what happens in certain scenarios where problems could be caused. I'm generally a pessimistic optimist by nature, hope for the best but be prepared for the worst

I'm still buying the sim, but few people who know and have used steam actually answered my questions on how it works. I have used it in the past (i was working in a web cafe for three years) and i wasn't too impressed (9 out of 10 games that gave us trouble were usually running through Steam), so what i'm interested to know is how much better or worse it is than it was 4-5 years ago.

I'm genuinely hoping it will work out well, i just don't see any real evidence to support it being worth the extra layer of complexity on top of a game that already has it's own DRM and the capability to handle multiplayer on its own. The integration with Steam was a very recent development at the request of Ubi (this has been confirmed by the developers, either on an interview or in a previous update thread), it's not like CoD was incapable of handling multiplayer on its own until now.

It seems that most people are divided in two camps: half are in panic mode and cancelling their pre-orders and the other half is just making fun of them without providing any clear answers as to possible troubleshooting scenarios. That's why we keep going around in circles.

Personally, i have a set of very clear questions that would help make up my mind but only a couple of Steam's advocates bother answering, the rest are just telling me "it's going to be fine, it's the future, deal with it" and so on. Well sorry, but that doesn't cut the mustard, in fact it just serves to arouse suspicion as to why people won't answer.

What i would really like to know is why i can't have multiple installations of the game on the same PC and the ability to roll back a patch. I also don't know and would like to find out how a DF server would be run under Steam. Is it rented directly from them or can we rent our own and just list it there? If it is rented from them, how much control do we have over the contents? In an action/shooter all we need is a flag for the game type (capture the flag/team deathmatch and so on) and the map to be used. Well, in a flight sim we can have dozens of different scenarios on the same map. Can a server under Steam be used in the way an IL2 DF server is used or will we end up with set-piece lobbies while waiting for Steam's functionality to catch up?

It's things like that i'm concerned about, not any itch as to how Steam does it's business. I don't care at all about Steam per se, what i care about is this: will i be able to use CoD the way i used IL2? That's all that matters to me. So, anyone care to enlighten me and answer some of the questions?

[Kikuchiyo]

Originally Posted by Blackdog_kt

1) The integration with Steam was a very recent development at the request of Ubi (this has been confirmed by the developers, either on an interview or in a previous update thread), it's not like CoD was incapable of handling multiplayer on its own until now.

a)What i would really like to know is why i can't have multiple installations of the game on the same PC and the ability to roll back a patch.

b)I also don't know and would like to find out how a DF server would be run under Steam. Is it rented directly from them or can we rent our own and just list it there?

c)If it is rented from them, how much control do we have over the contents? In an action/shooter all we need is a flag for the game type (capture the flag/team deathmatch and so on) and the map to be used. Well, in a flight sim we can have dozens of different scenarios on the same map.

d)Can a server under Steam be used in the way an IL2 DF server is used or will we end up with set-piece lobbies while waiting for Steam's functionality to catch up?

1) Pretty sure you have that backwards which is what the link at the top of this thread is all about.

a) You can have multiple copies of the game on a single PC, and if it is for the purpose of having rollback versions then you have roll back versions. If you want the Steam to start in offline mode there is an option for that when you are setting it up. If you want to go into offline mode after Steam is already in Online mode there is an option to do that with the "Steam" option at the top. If Steam is in offline mode it will not update your game. If you don't want Steam to update right now your only options are a)stay in offline mode, b)check the do not auto update option under the games properties and forever stay logged in, c) always keep a rollback version on a disc. I know it's not perfect, but it is what it is atm.

b) Servers do not have to be rented through Valve (Steam)

c) Valve does not try to control the content on servers they love mods and modding in general.

d) I have no idea what DF is or what "set piece lobbies" are.

[kimosabi]

Now you're making me paranoid, Blackdog. lol

Yeah, I've noticed that you'll have to be logged in to Steam even if you play offline. That crap didn't work with RoF, they patched it to offline play, so I really hope 1C thinks really hard about the offline play if they want people to stick to this niche game. I've read "one time online activation only" many times and figured that once the game is activated, I shouldn't worry about having to relate to a "mother server" continously. The ball grip 777 has over RoF and its community is why I stopped playing it.

I can't stand YuPlay, Windows Live and all that crap myself so I just don't play games with loads of logins etc. just to get my fix. I was hoping for a somewhat similar approach as I have with IL-2. Once the game is downloaded I can just jump into the Steamapps folder and fetch as many copies as I want and place the game on my desktop. CoD:IL-2 has a "one time online activation" in addition to Steam and I'll be very disappointed if I need to "confirm" my game every time I play it.

[Kikuchiyo]

Originally Posted by kimosabi

Now you're making me paranoid, Blackdog. lol

Yeah, I've noticed that you'll have to be logged in to Steam even if you play offline. That crap didn't work with RoF, they patched it to offline play, so I really hope 1C thinks really hard about the offline play if they want people to stick to this niche game. I've read "one time online activation only" many times and figured that once the game is activated, I shouldn't worry about having to relate to a "mother server" continously. The ball grip 777 has over RoF and its community is why I stopped playing it.

I can't stand YuPlay, Windows Live and all that crap myself so I just don't play games with loads of logins etc. just to get my fix. I was hoping for a somewhat similar approach as I have with IL-2. Once the game is downloaded I can just jump into the Steamapps folder and fetch as many copies as I want and place the game on my desktop. CoD:IL-2 has a "one time online activation" in addition to Steam and I'll be very disappointed if I need to "confirm" my game every time I play it.

This is why those of us championing Steam and this decision with such vigor have become kind of rude at this point. A lot of the information coming from naysayers is completely false and without any merit. We keep answering the same questions and debasing the same accusations, but they keep popping back up.

[BigC208]

I also posted this in the goodbey thread. Very interesting. I didn't mind Steam when I played HalfLife 4 or 5 years ago. That was a game with a limited duration though. There were a couple of times I could not get into the game when the net was down. Il2 or CoD are games with a very long shelf life. If you only needed Steam for MP I don't have a problem. If you have to use steam everytime you play we have a problem. I sat out RoF for almost a year and a half because of this. I'll sit this one out on the sidelines untill there is a "no steam for offline" option. It's the principle folks. My game, my rules. I cannot always be connected when I'm on the road and even at home my connection has periods of shoddy performance. The idea of being bombarded with adds for other games everytime I want to play is putting me off aswell.

Cancelled my preorder with gogamer.com. I know, it's a bit impulsive but untill I hear that I don't need an internet connection to play offline I'm out. Another thing is I can get into Il2 in 30 seconds and play a QMB match. It always took me a few minutes just to get into steam if I could get in at all. Did not happen very often, mind you, but it was a turnoff when it did. Had to wait a few times for 20 or 30 minutes before it worked. Not going to deal with that headache again. RoF and DCS A10 are going to get my full attention untill this is resolved. This is a major bummer.

Where these people sleeping when all this constant internet on crap went on with RoF? Who knows how many sales they lost when this went on? I do hope they fix this for I want to support Oleg and play this game.

Mind you, this is not about Steam or no Steam for me. It's about having to be connected to the internet when I want to play offline.

[kimosabi]

Kikuchanoiunas por favor, you posted a reply to Blackdog just as I posted mine. You gotta be quicker man, I wasted several minutes on my post.

[Kikuchiyo]

Originally Posted by BigC208

I also posted this in the goodbey thread. Very interesting. I didn't mind Steam when I played HalfLife 4 or 5 years ago. That was a game with a limited duration though. There were a couple of times I could not get into the game when the net was down. Il2 or CoD are games with a very long shelf life. If you only needed Steam for MP I don't have a problem. If you have to use steam everytime you play we have a problem. I sat out RoF for almost a year and a half because of this. I'll sit this one out on the sidelines untill there is a "no steam for offline" option. It's the principle folks. My game, my rules. I cannot always be connected when I'm on the road and even at home my connection has periods of shoddy performance. The idea of being bombarded with adds for other games everytime I want to play is putting me off aswell.

Cancelled my preorder with gogamer.com. I know, it's a bit impulsive but untill I hear that I don't need an internet connection to play offline I'm out. Another thing is I can get into Il2 in 30 seconds and play a QMB match. It always took me a few minutes just to get into steam if I could get in at all. Did not happen very often, mind you, but it was a turnoff when it did. Had to wait a few times for 20 or 30 minutes before it worked. Not going to deal with that headache again. RoF and DCS A10 are going to get my full attention untill this is resolved. This is a major bummer. Waiting 5 years for a game, spending three grand on a top of the line game rig, finding out they just sold my game down the river....Priceless! If it wasn't for DCSA10 and RoF I would be big time pissed off. Well it was nice hanging out with you guys. Not going to follow this anymore, too painfull. Three weeks from now, i'll check back in to see what the deal is and take it from there.

Where these people sleeping when all this constant internet on crap went on with RoF? Who knows how many sales they lost when this went on? I do hope they fix this for I want to support Oleg and play this game but enough's enough.

Mind you, this is not about Steam or no Steam for me. It's about having to be connected to the internet when I want to play offline.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO BE ONLINE WITH STEAM TO PLAY SP! Read what we are saying. Quit jumping to conclusions and making stuff up.

[Flying Pencil]

Having to sign up to an online service for off line play is THE DUMBEST idea yet!

Makes Mickysoft an angle by comparison.

I think UBI is in big trouble to have to use another company to service its products.


Ironic that some of the most successful games offer a FREE base module, and you have to pay for upgrades.

Oh well,....


Edit:
This is not clear, but I assume it still needs subscribing to a service.

Do I have to be online to activate my game?

While the activation solution will initially attempt to activate your game online, you can elect to manually enter an activation code. You will need to enter the code that comes with your game into the activation wizard, you will then be given an activation code that you can enter manually. So, although you do not necessarily need to have your computer hooked up to the internet, you will need to go online to obtain a code before playing.

[BigC208]

The way I'm reading it is that I have to be online to get the game started. After that's done I can get offline. Same problem. Congrats with your 100th post!

Untill I read it different I'm out. No need for shouting, I'm not telling you what to do right? I'm not making stuff up. If you read my other posts you can see that
I want this game badly. Just not badly enough if it requires me to be online to start an offline game session. I would love to stand corrected so I can buy the
game I wanted for 5 years. Conclussions are being made on what I read here on the forum. You're saying I'm coming to the wrong conclussion. Could you please
point me in the direction where you conclude that I don't have to be online for sigle player? Thanks.